Cute Baby Bat Really Loves Getting Brushed

This little baby bat loves her daily brushes. Tahani is an orphaned grey-headed flying fox being raised by Bat Rescue in Queensland, Australia after her mother was electrocuted on overhead power lines. In the wild her mother would be grooming her constantly, so her carer has to take over the job.

Tahani will be in care for another 6 weeks before going off to creche with all the other orphans, to practice flight and make batty friends before being released back to a wild colony.

According to Batusi Night's YouTube channel, "Australia is home to four species of megabats (flying foxes): Black Flying Fox - Pteropus alecto, Grey-headed Flying Fox - Pteropus poliocephalus, Spectacled Flying Fox - Pteropus conspicillatus and Little Red Flying Fox - Pteropus scapulatus. All four species are under increasing pressure from loss of habitat and feed trees, climate change and human cruelty and harassment. Their natural habitat is in trees along waterways - human development has inhabited or cleared most of these areas.

"Australian flying foxes are keystone species, playing a unique and crucial role in the environment as Australia's only long-distance pollinator and Australia's forests and other wildlife depend on them.

"Flying foxes are intelligent, social, gentle and curious creatures who deserve a chance at a life free of persecution."

The grey-headed flying fox is the largest bat in Australia. During the day, individuals reside in large roosts (colonies or 'camps') consisting of hundreds to tens of thousands of individuals. Colonies are formed in seemingly arbitrary locations. Roost vegetation includes rainforest patches, stands of melaleuca, mangroves, and riparian vegetation, but roosts also occupy highly modified vegetation in urban areas. A prominent example existed for many years at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. However, the Garden instituted a controversial policy to remove them from the garden grounds. The camp is now dispersed across Queensland.